When I first had you I had never had a baby before. I thought that I would be good at it because I had worked with children for a long time, teaching them and helping them to behave. Some of the children who I used to work with used to make the wrong choice and I would help them to make the right one. Some other adults didn’t understand why I wanted to work with children who always seemed to make the wrong choice but I knew it wasn’t because they were bad or naughty and that, eventually one day, they would consistently make right choices and people would see that.

So when I had you I expected to make the right choices for you. Other people expected me to as well. Now, I don’t want to put you off but having a baby is hard work. I know you already know that at the age of 5, because after I had Olive you told me not to have any more babies because we had no more hands to hold them.

When I had you I had the perfect amount of hands to hold you. And a lot of time. But we had just moved house and I felt lonely because I didn’t have any other grown up, boring people to talk to. I just had you. And it’s not like it is now because you couldn’t talk to me and we couldn’t drink hot chocolate and have girls’ nights watching films because you were too little.

I didn’t know you then and I think I was a bit scared because I didn’t know then that when you grew up I would love you so much no matter what.

When you were a baby you cried a lot. Because I had never had a baby before I thought that you cried a lot because of me which is really silly. You cried a lot because your tummy hurt. You were crying because you couldn’t talk and you were just trying to tell me that your tummy hurt. I cried quite a lot too. I cried because my tummy hurt too, the way yours does when you are worried. I was worried about being your mum. I didn’t cry in front of other people though, which is really silly, I should have done what you did and tried to tell someone else that my tummy hurt but I didn’t. That is the very first thing that you taught me Lola, even if I only realised it later. When you are hurting you should always tell someone.

That is why I always tell you now to tell me if you have hurt yourself (a big ouch, I don’t mean that teeny tiny ouch we had to use your bug magnifying glass to see). Or if you are worried about something. Because I learnt that if something is hurting a lot and you don’t tell someone, then the hurt doesn’t always go away. Sometimes it gets worse.

And you know how I always tell you that I don’t mind if you make the wrong choice? Or get told off at school? How it doesn’t really matter if we get things wrong because we are all human and everyone, even (especially) adults get things wrong? Well I didn’t know that then, and I thought that if I told anyone how I was feeling then all those people would think I’d done something wrong or that I wasn’t the best parent in the world. And I didn’t know then that I didn’t need to be the best and I was always the best for you.

And I am writing this letter to you just in case there is another lady who has had a baby who is feeling a little worried, or hurting. I just wanted them to know that there was a time when I felt very sad and now I don’t. There was a time when I was very worried about you and I, and now I’m not. And I wanted them to hear what you taught me – that if you are hurting you should tell an adult who can help you.